From Chaos to White-Glove: Inside Grosse Pointe’s Growth Story

Overview

In 2020, former financial services exec Taylor Lydon took a bet on a moving and storage company in Detroit. The brand had heritage—but operations were stuck in the 1980s. Handwritten estimates, missed jobs, and clunky scheduling meant every day was damage control.

He switched to SmartMoving to stop the chaos. What happened next? A complete transformation: better bookings, smarter upsells, and data-driven decisions that fuel real profit.

“I looked at SmartMoving and immediately knew—this is a superior product. I’d already paid for MoveItPro and still switched. That’s how obvious it was.”

- Taylor Lydon, Owner-operator @Grosse Point Moving & Storage

About MG Moving

Location: Detroit, MI
Services: Residential + commercial moving, packing, storage
Company: 8 trucks, 3 storage facilities
Revenue: $2.8m

Challenge

When Taylor took over, operations were painfully manual:

• Estimates were built in Excel and sent as PDFs
• Jobs were missed due to scheduling gaps
• Customers weren’t getting the white-glove experience he envisioned

“We’d get calls from customers asking, ‘Where’s my crew?’ We couldn’t keep running like that. We wanted a premium brand—but our process felt anything but.”

Initially, they chose MoveItPro—then quickly realized it was a mistake.

SmartMoving stood out for:

• Clean, intuitive UI
• Faster, easier quoting and scheduling
• Customer comms, invoicing, payments—all automated
• Real people who listen and act on feedback

Taylor now works directly with SmartMoving’s product team to shape advanced storage features, including barcode tracking.

“It’s rare to find a software team that really listens. SmartMoving knows our business, takes our feedback seriously, and actually builds what we ask for. That’s a real partnership.”

How SmartMoving helped

✅ Valuation sales up by 5X

Valuation used to be sold by phone after the job was booked. Now it’s part of the digital estimate—and it sells itself.

• Before: $900/mo in valuation sales; now: $4,600/mo
• Projected: $55K/year in high-margin revenue

What made the difference? Presenting valuation right on the estimate. When we have their attention. After that, it’s a much harder sell.”

✅ Cleaner estimates = higher close rates

Professional-looking estimates replaced PDFs and mail-dropped papers—instantly raising close rates and setting the tone for a premium experience.

✅ Selling more without saying more

Taylor’s team uses automated reminder emails to promote packing / unpacking, boxes, and materials—boosting average move value without extra work.

✅ Reporting: made for movers, trusted by CFOs

Taylor looks at SmartMoving reports weekly to track:

• Sales performance
• Speed to lead
• Close rate
• Price per job
• Revenue forecast
• Estimate vs. actual job accuracy

“I look for leading indicators, not just lagging ones. SmartMoving gives me that visibility.”

Results

Coming from outside the industry, Taylor got a crash course moving.

His biggest lessons?

• Don’t try to be everything to everyone
• Keep your best people and your best trucks
• Lead with value—not just price

“Once we stopped undercharging and leaned into a white-glove brand, the right customers found us. And they paid what we’re worth.”

With SmartMoving powering the operation behind the scenes, Taylor didn’t just fix the chaos—he scaled past it.

You can, too.

Book a SmartMoving tour to grow without growing pains.👇